Off The Boards By Jack Scheuer – March 16, 2016 Edition

Tournament time, and with the whole world making picks I might as well join in while knowing that the odds of picking even two of the Final Four would be a stretch. So, here we go: My choices to be the finalists are Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas and Oregon. I’m looking at Virginia and Kansas to meet in the championship game, with the Cavaliers winning the title.

My reasons being that Virginia is a totally solid team that rarely hurts itself, plays terrific defense, and has a way of totally controlling the pace of the game. Also, I’m a big fan of coach Tony Bennett, even though Sinatra is still the best there ever was.

And isn’t it great that this tournament never gets old? Non-stop good hoops.

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If Kris Jenkins continues his outstanding shooting, Villanova could certainly make a big splash in the tournament. The 6-6 junior has had a great four weeks. Like-wise, Saint Joe’s, with the dynamic duo of Bembry and Miles doing their thing, the Hawks could advance with a win over a physically tough Cincinnati team. However, number one seed Oregon would be next. As for Temple, it needs an all-out effort to get by Iowa. The Hawkeyes have struggled lately but have plenty of talent. And if the Owls come up with a win, we know who would be next. If that happens, they should move the game to the Palestra.

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Matt Brady being fired at James Madison comes as a surprise. One criticism given by the JMU Athletic Director was” that the coaching staff must have a stronger presence in the community.” ??? Evidently Matt didn’t join the Rotary Club. Might Drexel be interesting in giving him a look? Certainly makes sense to me.

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Trivia Time : Who holds the record for most points scored (407) in NCAA Tournament games: Answer at the end of the column.

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St.Joe’s Prep grad Steve Vasturia is having a real good season at Notre Dame, and if the Irish win two games

in the Big Dance he’ll be playing at the Wells Fargo in the East Regionals. Notre Dame coach Mike Brey calls the junior guard from Medford one of his all-time favorite players. I’ve heard Prep head-man Speedy Morris say the very same thing.

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This and That: Tyler Ulis might not be the best player in the country, but he is certainly the most valuable. No way would the Wildcats be a possibility to the Final Four thing without him….It’s very likely that Kentucky will meet Indiana in a 2nd round game. If so, by the time Travelin’ Tom Crean takes one of his up-and-down walks, Ulis might hit a jumper and steal the inbounds…. Stony Brook upsetting Kentucky would obviously be a minor miracle, but the Seawolves have an outstanding player in 6-8, 260, Jameel Warney, a double-double machine who is worth seeing….Phil Martelli deserves credit for recognizing what a talented player DeAndre’ Bembry would become. The 6-6 junior was not very heavily recruited coming out of high school, but now has a good chance to gain some All-America mention.

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 12/11/2018 – Every Philadelphia college basketball fan has a memory of the biggest thrillers in Big Five history. They think back and say ‘I remember that game.’ This has to be one of […]